Former Colorado Republican Party Chairman Carl Williams had a love for flying, one of the many passions of the businessman and philanthropist. (Photo courtesy of the Williams family)

A man called “a true giant in Colorado Republican history” died last Friday. Carl Williams was a Denver lawyer, state senator and a pioneer in the cable television industry, but much more: a champion of worthy causes, Colorado commerce and aviation. He even helped fund the founding of the city of Centennial.

He was 87 and died of natural causes, surrounded by his family.

A memorial is planned for Friday at 2:30 p.m. at St. John’s Cathedral at 1350 Washington St. in Denver. A reception location will be announced after the service.

Williams’ political prominence began as a freshman Colorado state senator in 1968, when he became an ally and confidante to Bill Armstrong, who would go on to become the Republican leader in the chamber, then serve as a U.S. representative and U.S. senator. Today Armstrong is president of Colorado Christian University.

“He was the quintessential gentleman, a man of impeccable manners,” Armstrong said of Williams Wednesday night. “He was thoughtful, and he obviously was highly intelligent. Carl was a man of principle, and he had a lot of steel in his spirit.”

The famed neurosurgeon turned politician is expected to address students from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. as part of the school’s Distinguished Speaker Series, the conservative Centennial Institute announced Tuesday. The conservative think tank is located on the CCU campus and helps attract nationally known conservatives to the private school in Lakewood.

Former state Senate President John Andrews is stepping down from his position as director of the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University near the end of the year.

CCU President Bill Armstrong announced the move Tuesday in a message that praised Andrews as “a brilliant public policy entrepreneur, gifted as a writer, teacher, mentor, speaker and advocate, and a leader in the noble struggle to preserve and extend human freedom.”

“I am especially grateful for John’s spiritual leadership,” Armstrong wrote. “His faithful testimony, understanding of Scripture, and service to our Lord are truly an inspiration. His ministry among us is a huge encouragement.”

Andrews, 71, said he is moving onto a new chapter but not retiring for good. “I want to do more at the intersection of faith and politics,” he said in an interview.

The Blue Bear, a popular public arts project, peaks into the Colorado Convention Center. (Denver Arts & Venues)

“The Colorado Convention Center is partially funded by the City and County of Denver, which forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,” Equality Colorado wrote. “We demand that the Colorado Convention Center refuse to host the Western Conservative Summit unless they allow the Log Cabin Republicans to exhibit at the Summit.”

Brian Kitts, the director of marketing and communications for Arts & Venues for Denver, was asked about the letter-writing campaign.

“There are a number of ‘if-then’ questions here but the easiest answer is that once a client rents a venue like the convention center — the sale of booth space, advertising, etc. has to comply with client guidelines. So, yes, the summit had the right not to allow booth space,” Kitts said.

State Sen. Lucia Guzman, D-Denver, right, joins other lawmakers as Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2013 signs into law a bill allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions. (Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post)

State Sen. Lucia Guzman won’t participate on a legislative panel that has ties to the Western Conservative Summit because the influential organization refused to allow a gay group, the Log Cabin Republicans, to set up an exhibit.

“I cannot in good conscience attend the panel … so long as the voice of gay and lesbian conservatives is stifled,” she said Thursday in a letter to John Andrews, the summit chairman and panel organizer.

Guzman, a Denver Democrat who is gay, said she had agreed to participate on a panel at the Centennial Institute May 11 to discuss the 2015 legislative session, which ends May 6. The think tank is part of Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, which sponsors the summit. Andrews and CCU were blistered nationally last week for telling members of the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans the group could not purchase exhibit space at the summit June 26-28 in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center.

“In 40 years of booking speakers, I’ve learned there are lots of fish in the sea,” Andrews said in response to Guzman’s letter. “It’s too bad Sen. Guzman can’t make it to our May 11 panel. We welcomed her cordially the last time she spoke at CCU, and we’ll hope to do so again one of these days.”

Douglas County Republican Kendal Unruh has attended every Western Conservative Summit since its inception, but this year she inadvertently booked the family vacation at the same time as the event.

Douglas County Republican Kendal Unruh and her son Dominic at he 2014 Western Conservative Summit in Denver. (Unruh photo)

“I was disappointed once I realized the conflict,” she said today. “However, I was just resolved to being disappointed.”

That was before a national uproar last week between the summit, which is part of Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, and a gay GOP group, the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans. The group was upset when summit chairman John Andrews said members couldn’t set up a table at the event because Log Cabin Republicans don’t share CCU’s views supporting traditional marriage. The summit returned the group’s $250 fee.

Unruh has since changed the dates of their Canadian vacation so the family can attend the summit in Denver June 26-28. The event regularly attracts some of the country’s best known conservatives, including a slew of presidential hopefuls, since its began in 2010.

“I knew it was my obligation to show support of WCS, so I paid the extra change fees on the airline, and lost out on a pre-paid hotel and car reservation. That is how deeply held my convictions are that we, as Christians, stand up in the face of religious intolerance,” Unruh said. “Also, my children are well aware of the sacrifices that were made to support fellow Christians when their worldview was under attack, so that life lesson is invaluable, and it was worth the cost.”

The increasingly influential Western Conservative Summit has disinvited a gay Republican group to attend its event this summer — a message that sends exactly the wrong message, members of the Log Cabin Republicans say.

The Colorado Log Cabin Republicans had paid a $250 fee to be able to set up a table at the event, but then received a message from John Andrews, head of the Centennial Institute, which is affiliated with Colorado Christian University and sponsors the summit.

“You and your members are very welcome to get tickets and attend, but we can’t officially have the organization as a partner, exhibitor, or advertiser,” Andrews said.

As a private organization, the summit has a right to decide the invite list, Log Cabin Republicans concede. But still.

“It is a pretty common issue we face. They’ll take our money, but want us in the closet,” said Michael Carr of Denver, a former state Senate candidate and secretary of the state chapter of Log Cabin Republicans.

“This is the most important time for us to be reaching out to all types of groups and people, all types of Republicans, all types of conservatives. Young people especially want to see a robust political debate and this dis-invitation is the exact opposite of that. Being perceived as anti-gay turns young people off even more than it does the general public.”

Two top Colorado Republicans — Bob Beauprez and Ken Buck — introduced two top speakers at this year’s Western Conservative Summit in Denver, where jabs at the left were plentiful.

Beauprez, the GOP nominee for Colorado governor, on Friday introduced Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, credited with giving one of the best speeches of the three-day summit, which ended Sunday with the results of a straw poll for the 2016 presidential race.

Bob Beauprez, the GOP nominee for Colorado governor, and his wife, Claudia, at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Buck, the Weld County district attorney who is the GOP nominee for Congress for Rep. Cory Gardner’s seat, on Saturday introduced Dennis Prager, host of The Dennis Prager Show.

“Bobby Jindal emphasized ethics and transparency and transformed the state government of Louisiana from an embarrassment to what’s been called the best in the nation,” Beauprez said. “He emphasized jobs and the economy and he set an all-time record for employment in the state of Louisiana and a top ranking for a business-friendly climate — a role that I think I might want to follow at some point.”

Former Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams has an unbelievable collection of newspaper clippings, including a New York Times piece on his one-time boss, U.S. Sen. Bill Armstrong, talking in 1983 about a subject that’s timely today: the debt ceiling.

The article took a look at the freshman senator from Colorado and his brand of conservatism.

In one sense the Senator is a missionary, preaching the gospel of fiscal rectitude to the heathens on Capitol Hill. But, in another sense, he is a pragmatist who knows how to count votes and when to accept a deal.

Others who admire Senator Armstrong feel that he has chosen the wrong fight. Since Republicans run the Senate, they say, the party has a responsibility to pass the debt limit legislation, no matter how unpleasant the task. As (one GOP senator) put it, ”If you’re in the majority, you have to make the place run.”

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.